Affrication is the replacement of fricatives by homorganic affricates.

• A. Replacing nasals by stops
• B. Replacing vowels with consonants
• C. Replacing fricatives by nasals
• D. Replacement of fricatives by affricates

Answer: (D)

Affrication is a phonological change where a fricative is replaced by an affricate that shares the same place of articulation. The key idea is that the sound moves from a continuous fricative to a brief stop-plus-fricative release at the same location in the mouth. For example, an alveolar s might become an alveolar affricate like t͡s, or a palato-alveolar ʃ might become t͡ʃ. This preserves where the sound is made but changes how it’s produced.

This exact description is why the option stating the replacement of fricatives by affricates is correct. The other ideas describe different processes—replacing nasals by stops is stopping, vowels by consonants is not a fricative-related change, and fricatives by nasals is nasalization—so they don’t capture affrication.